SR114

A Senate Resolution urging the Congress of the United States to reject draft legislation preempting the ability of states to regulate greenhouse gases.

Whereas, The recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded with a very high degree of certainty that human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, either causes or significantly contributes to global climate change; and

Whereas, The United States emits over seven billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the substances believed to cause global climate change, each year into the atmosphere with approximately 28 percent coming from the transportation sector; and

Whereas, Many states have already taken significant actions to respond to the warnings regarding the dangers of global climate change including formation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, setting ambitious targets for greenhouse gas reductions and, following California’s lead, plans to regulate automakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across vehicle fleets; and

Whereas, In 2002, California passed legislation creating vehicle emissions standards that will require that tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions from new vehicles be reduced by 22 percent by the 2012 model year and 30 percent by the 2016 model year, thereby allowing other States, including New Jersey, under the Clean Air Act, to adopt these more stringent vehicle emissions standards rather than less stringent federal emissions standards; and

Whereas, On April 2, 2007 the United States Supreme Court released its landmark ruling in Massachusetts vs. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which permitted the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, thereby lending support to California, and other states including New Jersey, to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector; and

Whereas, On June 1, 2007 U.S. Representative Rick Boucher of Virginia, the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee's Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee, introduced a discussion draft of legislation that would preempt California, and thereby eleven other states, from implementing laws requiring automakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across their fleets; and

Whereas, Representative Boucher’s draft legislation would also, effectively, overrule the Massachusetts vs. the Environmental Protection Agency decision by limiting the EPA’s authority to reporting on greenhouse gas emissions, rather than regulating greenhouse gas emissions; and

Whereas, Representative Boucher’s draft legislation would needlessly undermine the ability of states, which are on the forefront in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the EPA, to act to address the well accepted dangers associated with climate change; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:

1. This House respectfully urges the Congress of the United States to reject recent draft legislation proposed by Representative Boucher that would preempt the ability of states to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the President of the Senate and attested by the Secretary thereof, shall be transmitted to the Speaker, Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, the Majority and Minority leaders of the United States Senate and every member of Congress elected from this State.

STATEMENT

This resolution would urge the United States Congress to reject draft legislation introduced by Representative Boucher, which would preempt the ability of states to regulate greenhouse gases. In the absence of clear federal action to respond to global climate change, many states have taken significant action to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The draft legislation would undo much of that work and undermine the states’ ability to take action.